Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed into law legislation last week that makes the state the latest to allow advertisements on the outside of school buses.

HB 199 allows a school board or charter school governing board to adopt guidelines for age- and content-appropriate ads to raise additional revenue for a school district's or charter school's general fund. The ads could contain no messages of a sexual nature and could not promote gambling or alcohol, tobacco or drug use.

An original House fiscal note estimated that local school boards may be able to generate $750 to $1,500 per bus per year. That state has a total fleet of 2,225 school buses. But Murrell Martin, the director of school transportation at the Utah State Office of Education, pointed out that school district transportation departments may not see any of the money.

The legislation was signed on March 25 after a rollercoaster of a ride over the past five months. It was introduced in the House last October for the second-consecutive year but failed to get out of the chamber after failing a 44-27 vote with four legislators abstaining. But it was resurrected in the Senate on Feb. 11 amid attempts to draw down the state budget deficit by more than $100 million while not having to cut education dollars.

The same day that a House subcommittee recommended to cut an additional $2.4 million from the pupil transportation program on Feb. 11, the advertising bill was amended to to allow revenue to go to the pupil transportation program and passed a motion to reconsider and was placed back on the calendar. Then, on Feb. 15, HB 199 passed a third reading by a vote of 42-30 with three abstaining. At this writing it was read in the Senate and sent to committee. Then Senate passed the bill by a vote of 18 to 7 and heads to Gov. Gary R. Herbert.

Not to mention potential safety concerns, although there have been no studies that draw a conclusion that child or other motorist safety is adversely affected by school bus ads, Martin added that small, rural school districts would likely be precluded from participating in the program because those areas don't have the advertising market or more urban areas. An additional concern is that the school bus ad revenue could be interpreted by legislators as an on-going funding stream, with the potential result being reduced state education dollars.

While the law calls on the Utah Department of Transportation to make and enforce rules regarding the placement and size of exterior school bus ads, the State Office of Education would be involved in the process as UDOT seeks consultation any time regulations pertaining to school buses vehicle are adopted or updated.

New Jersey passed a law in January to allow exterior school bus ads. Schools are required to use 50 percent of revenue to offset rising fuel prices. Other states looking at school bus advertising legislation included Florida, Idaho, Oklahoma and Washington. Colorado was the first state to allow school bus ads beginning in the early 1990s and was followed by Arizona.